love me for me
by youare-who-youare
Summary: wrote this quite a while back on another site. hope you like it . Ohya, this is the actual first fanfic i have ever written but got a realy bad writer's block at the end. but i still hope you enjoy it. Fuji X OC ...lastly, I do not own POT
1. Chapter 1

~ koromi's POV~

" Hey Koromi, you know how I feel about you." Raito Toyaro looked into my eyes and whispers in, what he thinks is a,"sexy" voice "why don't you just accept me already? Then we can meet your parents and..."

"And what? You ask them for tips to improve your tennis so you can be a sure win for the place of buchou? No way!" I cutted in.

"Fine! It's not like you are that desirable. Everyone likes you only because of your parents' fame. Forget it, no one even wants you if it wasn't for your parents" Raito blared and stormed off.

"It's not like I don't know. Why do you people have to keep reminding me?" I leaned the wall and tried to hold back my tears.

My parents were the world famous mix doubles pair. They have never lost a competition before but they retire from the tennis world because they had me. Some of the tennis regulars ( males, of course) tried to get close to me hoping that they may make use of me to obtain tennis tips from my parents to gain the place of the buchou in that upcoming match.

I sighed and went into the school building to retrieve my bag from the classroom before slowly walking home.

"Tadaima" I said as I removed my shoes before stepping into the hallway.

"oh koromi, you're home" my mom struck her face out of the kitchen, smiling no, beaming at me. "Your father has some news he would like to tell you, you can find him in the study." and she went back to her humming while preparing dinner.

I headed over to the study, feeling very nervous, my father has never told us any important news needing me to enter his study, it was always in the dining room. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door, "otousan?"

"Come in" my father's deep voice called from inside the room. I opened the door and walked in.

" okaa-san said that you got some news you wanted to tell me?" my palms started turning sweaty. "Yes, I wanted to tell you that I GOT A JOB!" my father exclaimed, almost shouting into my ear.

I stood in shock and understood how much this meant to my father. I was happy for him but... "Otousan, this job... where is it?" his smile faded a little. "Well koromi, it is in the kantou regions" my eyes widened in surprise, THAT'S LIKE AT THE OTHER END OF JAPAN. "You'll be attending another school there." he continued in a rush.

"When are we leaving?" I asked a little hopefully, as I thought the time that people was sucking up to me because of my parents are finally over. "we are leaving next Friday"

FF- Saturday

we are finally at our new place, I can't believe I am finally free

~ kikamaru's POV ~

" Our new neighbours are coming today!" I shouted down the hallway. "Eiji, you are getting way too excited. You don't to scare our neighbours before they even enter the house do you?" mom scolded me. I couldn't care less, the grouchy old man from next door have finally leave and a new family is finally here.

Ever since onee-sans and onii-chans left for college and moved out, my parents have been concentrating a little too much on me.

My parents and I went over to their house, hoping to welcome them to the neighbourhood and invite them over to our place for dinner.

My dad rang the doorbell. "Coming" I heard a sweet voice coming from within the house. The door opened revealing a pretty girl in a blue dress.

"hi, may I help you?" she asked politely. "Hoi hoi, we are your new neighbours, nya~" I replied smiling at her. My mom smiled at her gently and asked "we were just wondering if you would like to have dinner at our place tonight?" "Okaa-san is a good cook, nya~" I interrupted.

She glanced at me curiously and returns her gaze to my mom. "I'll go check with my parents, Is it ok if you wait here a moment?" she asked. My dad nodded and she quickly turned back into the house. As she was still in her house, I was wondering, what's with that look she gave me just now?"

She came out a few minutes later with 2 adults. 'Why do they look so familiar' I wondered. The 2 adults graciously accepted my mother's invitation and thanking us.

During dinner, I learnt that she'll be going to Seigaku. Hm... Looks like I'll be seeing her around. Wonder if we can be good friends?


	2. Chapter 2

~ Koromi's POV ~

" Eiji, why don't you show tanaka-san around town tomorrow?" kikamaru-san suggested. "Nya~, okaa-san, that's a good idea" kikamaru-kun looked expectantly at me, "how about it, ko-ro-chan?"

I was shocked, when did he come up with that nickname for me? "koro-chan?" kikamaru-kun looked at me with a little concern showing in his eyes. "Hai, I'd love to. Arigato, kikamaru-kun"

"nya~, Koro-chan, call me Eiji. E-i-j-i." I smiled warmly at him, someone of the same of the same kind. "Eiji-kun".

~~~~~~ THE NEXT DAY ~~~~~~

I dressed simple with a comfortable tee and a pair of jeans. As I stepped out of the door, I bumped into someone. "Yite..." I called out, rubbing my forehead."Gomen," a soft voice spoke out, "daijobu?" I looked up and saw a good-looking guy, looking down at me and holding out his hand to help me up. "I'm fine," I replied, and pushed myself off the ground. I got a good look at him, light brown hair framing his smiling face; he looks about a year or two older than me. "I'm glad you're alright" he said, before continuing his way.

~ Fuji's POV ~

" Syusuke, can you help me with the chores today?" onee-san called out from the floor below. "Ah ... gomen onee-san, i was just planning to go to the book store. Is it alright if i help you out later?" I asked, hoping she'll say yes as there was a book I have been eager to check out. "Alright, but try to hurry, okay?" she gave in. "hai. Itekimas" I said as I rushed out of the house.

On my way to the book store, I walked past the neighbourhood Eiji lived. "Hm... I wonder if Eiji would like to join me. Well, it wouldn't harm to try" I thought to myself and strolled towards eiji's house.

Just as I was approaching, I felt someone bump into me. "Yite ..." a voice called out. I turned and saw a girl on the ground. "Gomen," I said as I held out a hand to her "daijobu?" she pushed herself off the ground and replied "I'm fine." she was a pretty girl dressed in a simple tee and jeans. "I'm glad that you're alright" I said before walking away. 'Oh ya, I forgot ask Eiji.' I checked the time, ' looks like I do not have enough time to go back. Maybe next time then.'

~ kikamaru's POV ~

" hoi hoi, Koro-chan. you ready to go?" I asked when I saw her standing at my doorway. "Well, I wouldn't be here if I wasn't. So where are we going?" she asked me, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "Nya~ koro-chan's so mean. But true enough, I was thinking of the arcade." I replied, bouncing down the path leading to the sidewalk. "Well, good enough for me. Let's go." she said and stepped on to the sidewalk.

As we were walking, I tried to get her to share with me about her old school. "Koro-chan, how is your old school like? Any fun?" she turned a little tensed and replied in a voice, not more than a whisper "nothing nice to remember about." I looked curiously at her sad face. 'What's up with that' I wondered and decided against pushing any further.

While we were pasting a book store, Koro-chan stopped me. "Eiji-kun, is it okay if I go to the book store? There's a book I wanted that just came out. I was wondering if I could get it." "Sure sure Koro-chan." I said as I followed her into the book shop.

~ koromi's POV ~

" I wonder if this book store sell that book." I wondered as I entered the store. "Koro-chan, is it okay if I check out the comics area?" Eiji-kun asked me. "Sure," I replied, giving him a warm smile, I felt bad dragging him into the book down and it will be rather mean of me to make him look for a book he wasn't interested in as well.

I walked through a row of books further inside the stall and saw a familiar book cover. I took a 2nd glance; it's the book I was looking for! I reached for it, and at the same time, another hand reached for the same book as well. I turned to the side. The hand belongs to a very familiar-looking guy. 'Where have i seen him before?' I wondered. The guy turned and faced me, the smile never leaving his face. Then, I remembered, "are you ..." it was just this time when I felt something knock against my back, pushing me forward and crashing into the guy. Both of us landed on the floor. 'This is the second time I fell today. And if I am right, they are both in front of the same Guy.' I thought, burning with embarrassment. "Daijobu?" the guy asked. 'Okay, it is the same guy; this is so embarrassing' I thought as I replied "ya I am ..." my voice trailed off as I looked into the guy's eyes. His eyes were mesmerizing, a brilliant blue and I felt hard to pull my eyes away. "Daijobu?" he asked again. I snapped out of my daydream and replied as I stood up "ya, of course i am fine, why I wouldn't be?"

"Koro-chan? What happened?" I heard a voice. I turned and saw a bunch of red hair trying to squeeze through the crowd. "koro-chan, are you ... hoi hoi, Fuji, what are you doing here, nya~" I looked up at him and saw him looking in the direction of the other guy. "Eiji, what are you doing here, I thought you don't quite like to read." the mysterious guy replied. 'They know each other?' I thought, but was too confused to interrupt. "Nya~, koro-chan here wants to buy a book so I came in with her. Fuji, what about you?" the guy called Fuji took a quick glance in my direction and replied "I was looking for a book too. Eiji, you know her?" I felt something heavy jumped on to my back "hoi! Koro-chan here is my neighbour." Eiji-kun announced while hugging me. "Saa, hi there, I am Fuji Syusuke. Nice to meet you ... erm ..." his voice drifted off. "Tanaka Koromi, it's a pleasure to meet you too." I jumped in.

Both Fuji-kun and I bought the book before leaving the store. "Saa, I got to go now, I promised onee-san I'll help her with the chores. Bye Eiji, nice meeting you tanaka-san." he said as he walked down the lane. "Hoi, bye fuji "Eiji-kun called out as he jumped up and down waving. "Um... nice to meet you too" I called out. Fuji-kun gave a final wave and turn round the corner.

Eiji-kun and I went to the arcade after that and I asked questions about seigaku and found out that he was from the tennis team. We returned home in time for dinner. During dinner, mom suddenly asked, "so how is this place so far Koromi?" both dad and she looked at me with concern and anxiousness in their eyes. "Well, it is very different here, in a good way." I replied them with a smile. 'ya and no one realized anything bout me being related to 2 former pros,' I added silently. Both dad and mom heaved an obvious sigh of relief. "well, it's good to hear that Koromi." dad said before we cleared the table. We chatted about the day I enjoyed with Eiji-kun and learned about things around. "Looks like I got a lot more to adapt" dad said just as he retired for the night. 'Ya, a lot of good change' I smiled to myself, thinking happily of what the future here might bring.


	3. Chapter 3

~ koromi's POV ~

i woke up to the sound of my alarm ringing. ' the first day of a new school' i thought with excitement. i quickly got dressed in my new uniform and run down the stairs. " ohayo " i practically shouted as i sat at the table. " wow, it was a long time since we saw you so happy koromi" my dad commented. " well, its my first day, it seems better starting off with a smiling face."

when i finshed breakfast, i carried my bag and left the house. as i was walking past eiji-kun's house, the door opened and he stepped out. " hoi hoi koro-chan, you are early." eiji-kun shutted the door and bounced onto the sidewalk. " ohayo eiji-kun. i want to be on time for my first day." then i realised something " eiji-kun, why aren't you in your uniform?" i asked, curious to figure out where they get such a cool jersey. eiji-kun looked down " nya~ oh, this is my regulars jersey. we have practice before school starts." 'darn, i wanted one of those.' i thought. " let's go together then eiji-kun?" i asked walking along the path beside him. " hoi hoi, of course koro-chan"

as we were walking to school, a bicycle rode by with 2 people on it. "ohayo eiji-senpai" the guy riding the bicycle shouted. "tweez" the other guy said, giving a bored look. " hoi hoi ochibi, momo" eiji-kun called out. 'ochibi? momo?' i thought to myself 'another weird nickname thigs i guess.' we walked slightly further and on the way, we were being joined by a guy with an egg-shaped head and two bangs who seemed rather friendly, another guy with brown hair and brown eyes who seem rather uncertain about what he was doing and fuji-kun.

~ momoshiro's POV ~

" hey echizen, who do you think the girl with eiji-senpai is?" i asked the boy behind me. " how do i know? his girlfriend?" came a grouchy reply. " what? i haven't even got a girlfriend yet, how can eiji-senpai get a girlfriend and not let me know?" i complained to the half-asleep kouhai i picked up. " mada mada dane, momo-senpai" echizen replied and heaved a sigh.

~ koromi's POV ~

" i guess i'll go to the teacher's lounge then. see you later eiji-kun" i said as we walked off in our different directions. my footsteps echoed around me as i walked down the quiet corridor. i stopped in front of the door that said "teachers lounge".

'well, this is it' i thought, 'a new beginning.' i took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

the door opened, revealing a lady in a pink jumpsuit. "how can i help you?" she asked, looking at me curiously. "um... i am looking for the teacher in charge of class 2-8. i am a new student." i replied, taking a quick glance at her. " you're tanaka koromi?" she asked, looking at a piece of paper i didn't know was, in her hands. "hai, i am tanaka koromi." "well miss tanaka, i am ryuzaki. i am your teacher-in-charge. truthfully, i wasn't expecting you to come this early. but since you're here, would you mind doing me a favour? this favour i am asking you of may last quite a while, but you don't have to if you don't want to." the teacher asked me. i looked up and saw gentleness in her eyes, no one treated me like that in my old school, they always treat me differently. i felt happiness bubbling inside me as i replied " sure, why not?"

"follow me" the sensei said as she walked out of the door. i hopped along behind her, wondering where she'll lead me to. ' this is one nice teacher' i thought ' straight-forward and good.' "we're here" i heard sensei's voice call out and a background sound of tennis balls being hitted. ' tell me this is not ...' i turned. THE TENNIS COURTS. i suddenly felt guarded, did she know bout my parents?

" all players gather up." sensei called out. i stood beside her and eyed her suspiously. " as you all know, our ranking matches are coming up. so i have asked someone to help with the preparation for it, in other words, she'll be temporary manager until the ranking matches. i am not sure if she plays tennis anot but you all better treat her nicely." i instantly heaved a sigh of relief, she doesn't know after all.

"nya~ koro-chan" i looked up from the ground and before i could react, eiji-kun hugged me in a tight embrace. "e-eiji-kun. i-i-i can't breathe." i said as he released me. i took in huge gasps of breath. " nice to see you again, tanaka-chan" fuji-kun said, wearing that smile on his face.

" so you know her already?" ryuzaki sensei asked in astonishment. "hoi hoi, koro-chan's my ..." eiji-kun was being cutted off by a guy with spiky hair and purple eyes. "your girlfriend?" he commented, smiling suggestively. "really, how did you guys start dating?" asked the egg-shaped guy from this morning. "hm... interesting data." another guy wearing glasses commented as he opened his notebook. 'where did that come about' i wondered as i looked over at the spiky hair guy ' he looks familiar.' "stop it momo, she is not my girlfriend. koro-chan here is my neighbour" eiji-kun hurriedly cleared the misunderstanding. ' of course, the guy on the bicycle this morning.' i thought, no wonder he misunderstood.

" well, allow me to introduce myself. i am a new transfer, today's my first day of school. i am tanaka koromi, hope you guys can help me in the future." i introduced myself and smiled warmly at them.

" regulars, introduce yourselves." a guy in glasses and solemn look called out, " allow me to start. i am tezuka, the buchou (a.k.a captain, for those who do not know) of seigaku tennis club." i smiled politely, he had a do not mess with me look on his face. "hi, i am oishi, i am fubuchou (a.k.a vice-captain) of seigaku tennis club." the egg-shaped guy said. " hoi hoi koro-chan, i think you know me already." eiji-kun waved to get my attention. " fuji syusuke, but you know this too right?" fuji-kun asked me. i gave a smile in his direction as acknowledgement. " hi, i-i am..." a brown haired guy started to speak. "taka-san, your racket." fuji-kun passed it to him. " burning ! i can feel the fire ! hey there baby, kawamura takashi at your service." the brown-eyes guy (now holding a racket) said with his eyes burning. 'what's with that intensity?' i wondered. "momoshiro takeshi, please call me momo-chan or momo" the spiky-hair guy said. "psssh... kaidoh kaoru" a bandana guy said. "echizen ryoma" the bored-looking guy in the morning said. i smiled and gave them a nod.

'this is one interesting team' i thought to myself ' from now on, its gonna be fun'


	4. Chapter 4

~ koromi's POV ~

"class, we have a new transfer with us today." sensei announced to the class before facing the door and beckoning me in. "ohayo, i am tanaka koromi. i just transferred here from (place a name of school here). nice to meet you all, hope that we can become good friends." i introduced myself. " tanaka-san, sit next to momoshiro." sensei told me as momoshiro waved his hand, practically shouting "tanaka-chan, here here."

i took my seat next to momoshiro and turned to him, smiling i said "hope we will get along well, momoshiro-kun." momoshiro gave me a look and corrected me "momo-chan or momo." i blinked my eyes in confusion. "tanaka-chan, when i introduced myself this morning, i told you i would like to be called momo-chan or momo" 'ah...' i thought ' so that's how it is' "alright then, momo it is " i exclaimed with an enthusiastic smile on my face.

"ringgg" the lunch bell rang. almost immediately, momo dashed out of the class. "what's with him?" i asked myself in a quiet voice. "ignore him, he's always like that" a voice came from behind me. i turned around and saw 3 girls looking at me. "you're the new girl right? tanaka koromi?" the middle girl asked, smiling curiously at me. "yes, i am ... you are ..." i asked wondering if that girl wanted to be my friend or foe. "sorry for being rude and not introducing myself. i am kimura reiko." the center girl intoduced herself. she was pretty, with brown hair and yellow eyes. "karasuma sato. how are you feeling, having to move here from so far away?" the girl with pink hair asked me. " don't be ask people things like that sato, i apologise for that, i am kato momoko." the girl with green eyes, as she smiled at me. "oh no, its alright, i find school here rather fun so far." i replied thinking to myself 'friends they are'

"so, tanaka-san, would you like to join us for lunch?" kimura-san asked me. " please, call me koromi, well if you don't mind but before that, is it alright if i look for someone?" i replied, hoping that i was not asking too much from a new friend. "sure, we'll go with you" karasuma-san replied. i heaved a sigh of relief. ' well, now that everything is going well, i think it is better to at least inform eiji-kun. i'm sure he'll be worried' i thought as i stepped out of the class with the three girls. "koro-chan" i heard as something heavy jumped on my back and hugged me really tight. "how are you koro-chan? is class alright?" eiji-kun asked (still hugging me i must add, thus making me unable to answer him.) "eiji, i don't think she can breathe let alone answer you" fuji-kun reasoned as he stepped into my view. he peered at me and added " she's turning purple. you better release her eiji." "aww... i wanted to hug her a little more" eiji-kun claimed as he released me. i took in a huge amount of air before i manage to speak again. " well, i am fine and i made some new friends" i replied causally, glancing in the group's direction.

the group stood there in shock and gaped at the 3 of us. karasuma-chan came towards us and pulled me away. " eh... koro-chan, where are you ..." eiji-kun's voice drifted off as i was too far to hear what he was saying.

~ fuji's POV ~

i watched her as she was being dragged off by her new friends. 'she's going to hear about the fame that we possess and ... either she'll be one of the screaming fans, the show -off that thinks she knows us that well or she will just ignore us for the rest of the school years.' i thought, feeling rather disappointed. 'wait, why am i feeling disappointed?' i questioned myself and shake thoughts of her out of my mind.

"eiji, does she know anything about the fangirls?" i asked the red-haired guy next to me. "nya~? oh i don't think koro-chan knows. come to think of that, her parents seem rather familiar." eiji replied, looking in the direction tanaka-san was dragged off. ' he met her parents? they are that close?' i wondered, feeling a slight anger swelled up inside me. "fuji, want to come over for dinner? mom told me to invite koro-chan too." eiji asked. "really? thank you eiji." i glanced at him and saw him beaming at me.

~ kikamaru's POV ~

i saw fuji's face when koro-chan was being dragged away. disappointment was the only word i could use to describe the expression that he showed. ' heh heh ... fuji and koro-chan huh?' i thought and my mind started turning, busy thinking of ways to match them up. fuji asked me a question and i only caught the word "fan girls" so i did think too much and just answered whatever i could thought of. 'looking after koro-chan, finally i feel like an older brother' i thought to myself as i invited fuji to our place for dinner

~koromi's POV ~

"hey, karasuma-san, what's wrong?" i asked as she pushed me into the girls toilet and the others walked in after us. "number 1, call me sato. and number 2, you know that boy tennis regulars?" she practically jumped in excitement at the word regulars. "um... ya, sort of" i replied. the girls looked at me with their eyes wide open. " wow, how did you know them?" they asked (actually sato practically demanded to know and there were curious signs in the eyes of the other 2). "well, i am sort of the temporary manager of the boys' team" i replied causally, concealing the fact that i was eiji-kun's neighbour. as i expected, their reactions were amusing to watch.

after school, i went to the back of the school and met up with the tennis team. " saa, tanaka-san, you're here. just in time, sensei forgot to inform you that the ranking matches are today. she got the dates messed up." fuji-kun informed me. 'oh i see' I thought feeling disappointed. 'wait, why am I feeling disappointed, it's not like I wanted to be manager in the first place.' I thought to myself, trying to cheer myself up. "tanaka, come here for a while" sensei called from inside the shed. I rushed over and saw her trying to lift 2 boxes up. "oh tanaka, you're fast. I'll take it that fuji pass on the message and manage to mention that i forgot that the ranking matches were today." sensei looked up and tried to smile.

"sensei, i was wondering, i mean if you don't find it a bother. i would liketocontinueb eingmanagerofth eteam." i said in a rush. sensei looked up and her eyes widened in shock before eyeing me suspiously and asking "why would you like to continue being the manager?" "well, when i first came, everyone tried to make me feel so at home and i feel that i maybe able to help if i remain their manager." i explained, crossing my fingers and hoping she'll say yes ...


	5. Chapter 5

~ koromi's POV ~

"well, in that case, i dont see why not. welcome to the team, tanaka" sensei smiled at me as relief found its way onto her face. "now, if you dont mind, manager, could you help me bring some boxes to the courts. my back is aching but mind you, i am not old at all. i'll just get one of the boys to help you out." she said as she strolled out of the equipment storage room. i looked around and realised, she forgot to tell me which boxes to bring, i stared at the heaps of boxes and heaved a sigh. "why are you sighing?" a voice asked behind me causing me to jump in shock.

"sorry, didn't mean to scare you. sensei told me to come and help you." fuji-kun said as he stood next to me. "so, which boxes? those?" he asked, looking at the pile of boxes i was staring at, in shock. "um... the problem is, she forgot to mention it." i replied, slowing turning my head to face him. he smiled at me and said in a cheerful voice," as expected of her. well, then let's start and sort them out."

after about half an hour of bending down, my back was starting to ache. i stretched myself up and knocked into something. "koromi, watch out!" fuji-kun shouted before i felt his arms wrap around me and we landed on the ground some distance away from the damage (things like shotputs, disus, old rackets and basketballs). i opened my eyes and saw fuji looking at me with his eyes open and his face no longer smiling, instead it display concern and worry. "daijobu?" he asked, his voice breaking a little. i felt his arms tightened and his breathing fast. i felt my face turned red as i realised' he called me koromi' and i mumbled, "ya, i'm fine"

~ fuji's POV ~

"ahh ... " i looked up and saw tanaka-san stretching as she stood up. her hair was tied in a messy ponytail and her face flushed due to sorting in the equipment storage room. 'she's rather cute' i admitted silently before scolding myself for having thoughts like that. "thud" she hitted a pile of boxes and did not seem to notice. the boxes started to wavier, when i saw that, my blood ran cold.i saw the boxes tipping over in slow motion and i panicked. if she continued standing there, she'll be hit. my mind went blank and my body moved on its own. "koromi, watch out." i ran towards her and pushed her away from the falling equipments. i looked down at her and asked "daijobu?" when she didn't answer, i start to worry. i tightened my hold around her and my breathing deepened. she was looking the other way, with a flushed face, she replied in a voice barely above a whisper "ya, i'm fine"

i released the breath i didn't know i was holding and looked at her face. she turned her head towards me and said something. i could not hear what she was saying as every detail found its way to my mind, her crystal blue eyes, and messy blue hair. under that circumstances, i found them weaving their way into my memory. "um... fuji-kun, we got to find the boxes." koromi said (i know, totally spoiling the moment.) i looked at her before releasing my hold on her and standing up. the feeling of her clothes against my hands.

as she stood up and left the room to ask sensei which boxes to carry out. i looked at her leave. 'did i scared her?' i thought, a little regretful that i let her go.

~ koromi's POV ~

i left the room in a rush. 'what just happened?' i thought. the warmth of his hands around me tingled and his eyes seemed to captive me. i felt lost, weird ' why do i feel so strange?'

"sensei, we tried looking for the different boxes but can't really tell which one to carry out." i reported to the lady observing the training. " oh didn't i tell you?" she asked, glancing at me. i shook my head and she heaved a sigh and mumbled "i must be getting really forgetful"

after we moved the boxes out, the ranking matches started. "tanaka, paste these on the board." tezuka instructed me as i took the pieces of paper out of his hands. as i paste the pieces of paper onto the board, something caught my eye. "Echizen Ryoma/ year 1" i blinked at the paper, trying to see if i got it wrong. "what's wrong, tanaka?" sensei asked as she stepped beside me looking at the same piece of paper. " there is a first year,sensei. first years are allowed in ranking tournoments?" i asked as my previous school did not even allow the first-years to step into the court while holding a racket. "oh, that is an exception. you'll see why." sensei replied mysteriously.

'echizen ryoma, sounds familiar.' i thought, as i wandered about to look for that first year. "game and match, echizen. 6 games to love." i heard a voice called out from the nearest court. i looked over and saw a boy wearing a cap, i then realised that he was the "ochibi" eiji-kun introduced me to. "hiaz, it is just impossible to beat a regular huh?" the guy beside me mumbled. "gomen, but who did you say was a regular?" i questioned, thinking that he was referring to someone else. "echizen ryoma. when he first came, he was placed in the ranking matches and got a place of a regular." he replied. i was shocked, that small boy is that good ?

at the end of the day, the regulars have been decided. they are tezuka, oishi, kawamura, fuji, kikamaru, momoshiro, kaidoh and echizen. 'amazing' i thought after witnessing the ranking matches, 'they're really good.'

"nya~ koro-chan, ogaa-san told me to invite you for dinner. your parents will be there too. " eiji-kun "informed" me. i nodded and smiled at him in thanks. as we turned towards our street, i noticed something weird. "why is fuji-kun with us?" i asked out loud.

~ kikamaru's POV ~

'wow, glad that she finally noticed. how will she react?'i wondered before telling her the truth. as i thought, koro-chan was shocked before turning a little pink. "i see" she mumbled. "tadaima" i called out as i enter the house. "welcome back eiji." a familiar voice called out, before the face of my sister came into view. "onee-chan" i ran over and hug her. she smiled gently and hugging me back before releasing my hold on her. she looked over at fuji and koro-chan. "hi there, fuji, long time no see." fuji smiled and replied "it's been a while."

~ koromi's POV ~

'wow, someone can actually survive eiji-kun's hug' i thought as i saw his sister gently releasing eiji-kun's hold on her. "hi there, fuji, long time no see" she called out. 'wait, she know him,how? is she an ex-girlfriend?' i thought as i starred on the ground, with a bit of anger piling up. so, i admit, she's beautiful and all but how can she be so causal to her ex-boyfriend?

happy laughter rang throughout the entire dinner. but i kept glancing at my plate, not eating. " tanaka-san, is the food not to your liking?" i looked up and saw kikamaru-san looking at me. i quickly shock my head and replied "oh, it's delicious, but i am really sorry i do not have much appetite


	6. Chapter 6

~~~~ a few days later ~~~

everything went smoothly for koromi and her friends. everyday was the usual routine, school and tennis and school and tennis

~ koromi's POV ~

" koromi, is it alright if we join you to watch the guys practice?" kato asked me, curiously before getting jumped on by sato who repeatedly yelled " ya, can we? can we?" reiko stood at one side, and smiled knowingly. "well, i guess it should be alright." i replied as i hurriedly entered the washroom to change into my sports attire.

as we turned towards the tennis courts, i heard a huge number of screams saying things like "kyaaa, momoshiro-kun." or " wahh ... ryoma-sama, so cool " (i am assuming you know who that is). i looked over at where the screams were coming from and saw a big group of girls cheering as they looked at the guys practicing. "wow, they're popular." i commented staring at the amount of girls by the side. sato and kato stared at me and asked " you don't know?" i looked back at them curiously "know what?" " the tennis team is what seigaku is known for. they are good and some of the players are at national level." reiko explain. 'i see' i thought as my eyes wandered onto the courts.

"tanaka, if you finish staring, we would like to start practice." a voice called out behind us. we all jumped and turned around and saw tezuka behind us, giving me that fierce look. "sumimasen." as i quickly rushed towards the tennis courts. "cheers" everyone cried out just as tezuka and i entered the courts. my three friends stood outside the courts as it was an unspoken rule that only members of the tennis club are able to enter the courts during practice time. "what's that girl doing in there? trying to get into the regulars' good graces?" mean mumurs spread around the courts. "koro-chan, glad to have you back." eiji-kun shouted, running towards me. i dodged out of the way and eiji-kun pouted at the failed attempt.

"i have asked someone to prepare a training menu for you all." sensei announced as inui stepped up next to her. "inui?" everyone chroused, loking at him feeling puzzled. he held up some ankle weights and claimed that it weighed 1kg each and handing them out to the regulars who put them on. they were going to train with three colour balls and hitting the ball to the same coloured cone. "tanaka, would you mind if you help ? inui can teach you the serves." sensei told me. i nodded and walked over to court A as inui position himself in court B. he taught me a simple underhanded serve. i smirked a little, thinking of what will happen if i show them my real serve.

"first up, kikamaru and echizen" inui called out. i randomly picked out balls from the box to serve. "when you are tired, your judgement will be affected. kikamaru failed, next person" inui practically shouted, before handing a glass of green substance to eiji-kun claiming that those who fail will have to drink it. i stared in shock, at eiji-kun's reaction (running off saying it's terrible ). someone grabbed the racket out of my hand and shouted "echizen". i turned and saw sensei with a fierce look on her face as echizen missed the shot. he too was given the drink whereby he ran away, trying not to puke. sensei saw my shocked reaction and smiled telling me that it was normal. 'normal? how can that be normal?' i thought to myself as i serve the ball to the next victims.

~ fuji's POV ~

'i really don't get what is so bad with that drink. it's nice' i thought as i gulped it down. eiji accused me of missing on purpose but i have to admit i was curious about how it taste like. koromi was looking at me, seems like she was waiting for my reaction. i smiled and gave her a slight thumbs-up, and she stared at me with disbelief.

when practice ended, i went home and found yuuta sitting in the living room. "yuuta, you're back" i said, beaming at him as happiness filled my heart. ever since yuuta entered st. Rudolph, it was really rare that he comes home. "aniki," he greeted me before surprising me with an even better news,"i am moving back home." ok, scratch that, the happiness overflowed. " saa, i am really glad, yuuta." i said before going to my bedroom to place my bag.

~ yuuta's POV ~

"aniki, i am moving back home." i told to my brother's smiling face. his smile widened and happiness seems to be pouring out of him. "saa, i am really glad, yuuta" was all he said. i stood in shock, all these years i spent trying to win my brother and trying to surpass him. i keep thinking i was the one who had been suffering with him around. but what i never thought that i would have such an effect on him. i was really happy, and not knowing why, i subconsciously smiled.

~ fuji's POV ~

yuuta is finally coming home. how long have i wish for that to happen? i settled down for dinner with onee-chan and yuuta. we chatted about many things about school and tennis.

after dinner, i decided to go for a walk. i took my camera and left for my favorite spot in the park. 'i love the view from up here' i thought as i snapped a shot of the perfect scenery. "who's there?" i heard a girl's voice coming from a dark figure which i did not notice was there. "saa, gomen i didn't ..." "fuji-kun?" i was being cutted off by the voice of the figure now approching me.

the figure stepped into the light and revealed ...


	7. Chapter 7

~ fuji's POV ~

"koromi. what are you doing here?" i asked. i was fairly certain that no one comes here. " it's a beautiful night huh? fuji-kun" she asked me. " y-ya, i guess." stumbling due to the sudden change of topic. she gave a slight giggle and said "funny to see you here, i was quite sure no one ever come to this place." i was shocked as she took my words right out of my mouth.

" i like it here. it's a nice view and it calms me down." i replied. "Fuji Syusuke has times when he needs calming down huh? i always thought that you were the calm one of the team. would you like to share?" she asked. i looked over at her, the moonlight shined on where we were sitting, illuminating her fair skin as she glanced at me curiously.

"yuuta's back" i replied, looking from her face back at the sky and lied on the grass. "yuuta?" she asked, looking blankly at me. "hahas, yuuta is my brother." i replied, clucking at her blank look. "why will he be back?" she asked, looking at me with contentration. "he used to be in seigaku but then he transferred to st ruldoph. ever since he entered that school, he hardly comes home and he hates me. and ..." my voice trailed off as i look back into the sky, " and now he's finally coming back."

~ koromi's POV ~

i saw fuji-kun smiling as he looked at the sky. a genuine smile that lit his face, this is the first time is saw fuji-kun like this. it seems as if all his troubles are gone and that he felt relief. " well, i guess there are times when even a tensai feels troubled. You know, if you need someone to speak to, feel free to call me. 24 hours available" i smiled and looked at his direction. "arigato" he whispered as he grasped my hands in his. i feel a blush creep up my face as i held his hand too.

after about what seems like an hour, we left the park (still holding hands) and he walked me back. "isn't it a little out of the way for you?" i asked him on our way back. "daijobu, i have to pass by here anyway" he replied, giving me a shy smile. when we reach my doorstep, i gave him a small smile "arigato, see you tomorrow at practice." " ja ne" he replied and left after i entered the door.

~ kikamaru's POV ~

i was taking a break from the video game that i was playing and looking out of my window when i saw two figures walking down the road. as they approach, i managed to see their faces clearly and my eyes went wide with shock. FUJI AND KORO-CHAN ? this sent my mind into a thinking mode. 'hm... i wonder what's up with them'

the next morning, i left the house and saw koro-chan standing at my doorstep with fuji. " ohayo, eiji-kun. we'll be late if we don't leave now and i doubt someone wants extra laps" she grinned at me before skipping down the path. 'wow, she sure is in a good mood' i thought as i greeted her. "nya~ fuji, what are you doing here by the way?" i asked, looking at the smiling guy beside me. "saa, i was just passing by and wanted to tell you something." he said as he walked slightly ahead. i saw koro-chan giving fuji a knowing smile. 'that means she knows' i thought, wondering how was it possible that koro-chan knows it before me. ' ... unless, they're together?' i thought with a slight bit of excitement. "nani nani?" i questioned, hurrying in front of the smiling twosome.

" nya~, that's a great news fuji." i exclaim after hearing the news. i am really happy for him. we turned into school just as we heard a voice coming from behind us. "kikamaru, fuji, tanaka. you are late. 20 laps around the courts."

~ koromi's POV ~

there was no doubt whose voice that was. (here's a hint, he wears glasses and is very strict) we quickly drop our bags and started our laps around the courts (i was in my sports attire so it was perfectly alright.) the fangirls were at the usual places screaming and cheering the members on. i ran thinking 'why does a manager have to do laps?'

"members, please assemble, sensei has an announcement." i called out and all the members hurried to their position. " alright, i have to say that you guys have improved but it is still not enough. however, since new year's is next week, i will not stress you all out so much. we'll meet again when new years is over. practice is over now. see you after new year's." sensei said before turning around and heading into the school building.

~ random POV ~

cheers well up the tennis court. eiji was jumping up and down shouting " nya~, no practice till new years, no practice till new years!" oishi was trying to calm eiji down but did not hide the smile on his face. fuji and momo was persuading kawamura to allow them to have a party at kawamura sushi. inui was taking notes on the regulars behaviour and trying to see tezuka's reaction. tezuka was standing by one side observing the situation and koromi manage to get kaidoh to explain to her what is happening.

~ kikamaru's POV ~

"nya~, we have no practice. yay!" i shouted as i grabbed the two people closest to me. Fuji and koro-chan. i jumped up and down and pulling more people into the little circle of ours.

we have got to plan something for new years. we just got to !


	8. Chapter 8

~ koromi's POV ~

on our way back from school the day before new year's eve, eiji-kun suddenly jumped up and shouted " i got it ! i got it !" we all turned towards him curiously, "got what, eiji?" oishi asked the happy-looking hyped up boy. eiji-kun turned and grinned at us all. "let's have a gathering." eiji-kun announced with a happy smile on his face. we stared at him, wide-eyed with surprise. "what?" he asked, clearly annoyed at our reaction (he thought that we were doubting if he'll plan a successful gathering). " what kind of gathering,eiji-senpai?" momo asked the question we were all thinking about. "nya~, i was thinking about new years eve. we all meet up at the annual new year festival and celebrate new year's together." eiji-kun announced, feeling proud of himself.

"i'll be there" i called out and started dreaming about how the day is going to be like. everyone decided to take part in this activity and we arranged to meet at the north entrance of the park (where the festival was being held) at 5pm. before we all spilt to walk our different routes, eiji-kun shouted "nya~, see you tomorrow. bring your own partners people." and pulled me to the direction of our houses. " what do you mean partners? how am i going to find a guy at last minute?" i asked eiji-kun, feeling a little annoyed. " nya~, why don't you come with me then? by the way koro-chan, you can invite your friends too, i am sure no one will find anyone to go with even though I asked them to bring someone." he replied, looking at me with total innocence. " well, ok i guess. i'll call them and tell you later." i called out as eiji-kun turned to walk down the path leading to his house.

when i entered my room, i picked up the phone and started dialling in the girls numbers. " really? we are invited?" sato shouted over the phone. "count me in" kato replied after calming sato down. " i'll be there" reiko answered and we made plans to meet at my place 2 hours before we meet the boys.

~ kikamaru's POV ~

just as i stepped into the house, the phone rang and i ran to pick it up. "hoi hoi" i greeted the person on the other line. "saa, eiji. is kazuki-san ( no sure what eiji's sister's name is so...) there? " fuji replied. my eyes widened in surprise as i called for my sister and handed the phone to her. ' why did fuji called for onee-chan?' i thought before she came brusting into my room. " eiji, i didn't know that you are having a gathering. why didn't you tell me? you don't want to hang out with your sister while she in town?" she stated, accusingly, as she sat on my bed. " how-how do you know?" i asked in amazement, does she have psychic powers or something? " nope i do not have psychic powers. fuji told me thinking that you may have forgotten to tell me and invited me along. and duh, i'm going of course." onee-chan gave me a "what else" look and left the room. 'oh, so fuji called because of that.' i thought before slowly drifted off into my sleep.

ff - the next day, evening at 4.50pm

i met all of the guys at the north enterance. " psssh, where are they? they are sure late." kaidoh complained, feeling irritated. " kaidoh-kun, just a little while more. you do know that girls like to be late. besides, its only 4.50" kotami misaki (kaidoh's girlfriend, ya made it up) replied. " great idea, kikamaru. if you didn't plan this, i doubt we will figure their secrets." inui claimed, eyeing kaidoh and kotami before shifting his gaze to kawamura and a brown-hair girl smiling happily beside him.

" wow, you're here early" a voice called out from behind me.

~ koromi's POV ~

" wow, you're here early," i called out, seeing everyone assembled at the north entrance already. " psssh, it's not that we're early, it's that you're late." kaidoh replied with an irritated voice. " well, for your information, we reached at 4.40 but we were thristy so we went to get a drink." kato rebutted, pointing at the drink store next door. "saa, lets not argue now. since we are all here, why don't we go and have some fun instead?" fuji-kun cutted in and nodded in the direction of the festival. " i agree, that's what we are here for right?" i turned and started walking towards the enterance of the festival. i took a sneak peek at fuji-kun and saw him chatting with eiji-kun's sister. i felt a little angry swell as i tried to compose myself. " jealous?" reiko whispered into my ear. " no. why should i be? " i asked as i feel my face heat up. she took a glimpse at me and sighed before telling me. " well, you know yourself best. you make sure you know what you're doing. don't regret only when you lose it"

we entered the crowded pathway of the festival. i stared in awe 'so this is how the other side celebrate their new years.' "it's ama-" i stopped realising that there was no longer anyone beside me. " fuji-kun? eiji-kun? kato? sato?" i called out as i looked around me.

where am i ?

~ fuji's POV ~

i glanced at koromi, she looked so pretty with her kimono on. my mind drifted off the conversation i was having with kazuki-san as i looked at koromi talking to her friend. " fuji. fuji." kazuki-san called me. " yes?" i asked and quickly turn my head back only to find her looking at me with her eyes gleaming. " you like her huh?" she said as she looked closely at koromi. i did not know what she was looking at and followed whatever she was doing. i took the even the little details and even the way she smile at whatever momo and momoko-chan was arguing about. do i really like her, i have never felt anything like that before. man, she's driving me nuts. " she's a great catch. treasure her." kazuki-san spoke after a while, calling my attention back.

as we entered the festival, kazuki-san excused herself to get eiji to get her something while i wandered off to a store near-by. i looked down at the things on display and something caught my eye,a handphone strap consisting of a small blue heart with the words "i love you" in the center. i chose that and quickly paid for it. i turned around to look for the other when i realised...

that i was left behind.

~ kato's POV ~

"hey, stop people stop." i shouted, feeling something amiss. " what now?" momoshiro demanded to know. " well smartass, in case you haven't noticed, we seem to be missing some people." i argued back. that seemed to stop momoshiro as he blinked and looked around. "who are the ones missing." he asked, still counting the number of people."nya~, fuji's missing." kikamaru called out, eyes bewildered. " koromi's missing too." sato added, sharing the same look as kikamaru.

~ koromi's POV ~

i started wandering around, carrying some hope that they are not too far away. i looked everywhere except the road i was walking. i collided into something hard and fell onto the ground. "yite" i called out rubbing my head. "daijobu?" a voice asked. i looked up and found myself staring into a pair of familiar eyes, familiar pair of brilliant blue eyes. "fuji-kun?" i whispered as he helped me up. " saa, glad to have found you koromi, so where are the rest?" i asked looking around where we were standing. "aren't you with them?" i asked him back. he grinned at me before saying the bad news "we are seperated from them"

we walked from shop to shop, eating and playing. we had so much fun, more fun then i have in ages. fuji-kun held my hand the whole way. 'it is to make sure we don't lose each other again' i told myself as my heartbeat quicken and face started turning red. i held on and followed him through the crowd.

"saa, i don't think we can find them" fuji-kun said before sitting down and pulling me along with him. "i guess we should take a break. besides, it's almost new years" he whispered and looked up towards the sky. i looked up and sighed in contentment as i saw the stars shining brightly in the midnight sky. i closed my eyes and feel the midnight breeze blowing past. i felt relief and relaxed.

"well well well, isn't this interesting. hey guys, look who i found." a voice spoke behind me. immediately, my shoulder tensed and my hand grabbed fuji's. he looked at me, confused. i took a breath and slowly turn around, praying silently that it is not who i thought would be. the person stepped out of the shadow and i saw ...


	9. Chapter 9

~ koromi's POV ~

i turned around slowly, wishing that the person is not who i think he is. but sadly, my luck ran out as i saw Raito Toyaro stepping out of the shadows. "koromi !" a shrill voice owned by a blonde-hair girl. before i knew it, i was crushed in a hug by my old friend, kougyu miyu . "it's nice to see you too, miyu."

~ fuji's POV ~

i smiled at the night sky. could this get any better? there was a comfortable atmosphere and it's just the two of us. "well well well, who do we have here." i heard a cold voice mumbled from behind us. i turned around and saw a dark-haired guy staring harshly at koromi, just as something blonde ran passed me.

"koromi" the girl shouted before hugging her. 'who are they?' i thought as my eyes drifted back to the guy sitting by the tree. " i see that you certainly move fast huh koromi." what does he mean by that. i turned my head towards koromi, who was glaring at that guy with an fierce anger in her eyes. what is going on?

~ echizen's POV ~

"nya~, where is fuji and koro-chan?" eiji-senpai asked with a worried look on his face. we have be searching for about half an hour and there was no sign of any of them. not even their shadows. " 60% they found each other." inui-senpai claimed from the other end. it was not helping in helping us look for them, he should tell us where will they be, that will definitely help us a lot.

"koromi" i heard a shrill voice called out from nearby. i walked towards to direction and saw fuji-senpai and tanaka-senpai under a tree. " senpai-tachi, mada mada dane" i called out, pointing in the direction of the two lost birds.

~ koromi's POV ~ 

" what do you want, Toyaro" i demanded, glaring at him. he better not say anything. "well, don't be so harsh on your ex" " we were never ..." " what? don't want you new boyfriend to find out?" he retorted. he's blackmailing me, i can't let him do that but what can i do? "hey, new boy. want to know some interesting stuff. koromi's ..." " stop it " i yelled, while pushing. " do you really have to ruin my life here as well?" i cried out, before i sat on the floor. "koromi, are you ok?" fuji-kun asked. "i am sorry, i really am. i just ..." i sobbed, why does it feel like i was cheating on him? we are not even together in the first place. " well, it's too late now koromi. new boy, want to know about koromi's background?"

"i don't think that is necessary." a voice cut in from behind us. " nya~, koro-chan, fuji !" a voice cried out and eiji-kun hugged us tightly together. "what is this? another new guy. you sure are wild here koromi." toyaro claimed. eiji-kun released us and glared at him. " do not insult her like that" he and fuji-kun shouted. kato walked over to toyaro and stared at him. " what? you charmed by my looks?" toyaro gave kato a wink. "why you..." momoshiro shouted ready to lung at toyaro when we heard a slap. " no, i was just wondering what self-obsessed freak would expect my friend to choose him any of the much more eiligible guys here. never, and i mean never insult any of my friends." kato warned with eyes flashing with anger.

" don't you feel angry that she didn't tell you the truth?" toyaro questioned, eyes glinting (not a good sign). " as i said, we don't need to know." inui stepped forward and looked at toyaro with disapproval. " oh ya? then what can you tell me about her background?" he challenged inui. ' not good not good, i have never told them anything about myself before' i thought with my eyes shut not daring to face reality.

inui flipped open his notebook and said, " oh yes, here it is. tanaka koromi, daughter of tanaka kiyoshi and miyaro kira, the famous mixed doubles pair who mysteriously retired despite not losing any matches. koromi, too, made a name for herself in states and japan by being the youngest champion in the under -18 and open categories competition. did i miss anything?" inui asked, closing his notebook. " how did you ..." my voice trailed off as inui gave me a comforting smile. "you don't have to hide this from us. you are not the only one with famous parents around here." "honto? who is the other person?" i questioned, with curiosity" he is standing in front of you. echizen ryoma. son of echizen nanjirou or samurai nanjirou during his pro days, won 4 junior championships in 1 and a half years." inui supplied, looking over at ryoma's reaction before scribbling in his notebook again. 

~ fuji's POV ~ 

'so that's what koromi was hiding from us. why, i mean why didn't she tell me? i thought that she could trust me by now' i glanced at koromi and saw her smiling at the rest with slight uncertainity in her eyes, i looked back at the guy. he was looking at koromi with a look of anger but there was something else there, is that longing? i shook those thoughts out of my head and stood up.

" fuji-kun, where are you going ?" koromi asked as i turned and started to walk back. " i am not feeling well, i'll just be heading home first." i replied and started to walk further and further. as i entered the park, i walked over to the bench, located near the playground, and sat down. i heaved a sigh and looked up at the sky. "why does things have to be so complicated?"

"things are only complicated if you think it's complicated." a voice answered my question. " maybe, tezuka, maybe" i replied and turned around and smiled at my captain. " you know, she'll be worried if you just go off like that." tezuka said as he stepped out of the shadows. i looked at him before getting up and following him, "i guess you're right."

~ koromi's POV ~ 

'i knew he won't accept it. DAMN, why does toyaro have to ruin my life here as well?' i thought as angry tears filled my eyes. "what's wrong koromi?" miyu asked. " daijobu?" sato asked as they crowded around me and patting me on my back ( momo, eiji-kun and sato pat on my head). " sorry to create such a commotion guys," i said, forcing a smile on my face. " you guys enjoy the rest of your night, i'll just being going first. oh and miyu, we'll check some time. mail me k?" i started backing up and turning around and ...


	10. Chapter 10

~ koromi's POV ~

"yite," i called out before tripping over a stone and falling onto the floor. " you seem to have a habit of bumping into me" a voice chuckled. as i opened my eye, a hand found its way into my range of sight, i looked up and found myself looking into the smiling eyes of fuji-kun. " daijobu?" he asked, smiling at me as i slipped my hand into his and he pulled me up. " this is the first time you allow me to pull you up." fuji observed and give a small chuckle. i looked at him confused, isn't he suppose to hate me now?

~fuji's POV~

when koromi slipped her hand into mine, i was so surprised, she has never done anything like that before, everytime she fall, my hand is always there on display as she never need any help in getting up. it was like all my senses were in full alert as i felt the softness of her skin. " this is the first time you allow me to pull you up." i told her before letting out a chuckle. when she stood up, she suddenly snatched her hand away, and mumbled something about going home before walking quickly pass me. i stood there in shock, what's going on. i turned and chased after koromi, grabbed her hand and turned her around. her eyes were full of tears that were threatening to flow. " koromi?" i felt embarrassed, my body seem to act on its own. " um... i-i...i... the fireworks is starting. why not just stay a while longer?" i asked lamely, mentally slapping myself.

~ koromi's POV ~

" um... i-i...i... the fireworks is starting. why not just stay a while longer?" fuji-kun asked. "anou..." eiji-kun took this opportunity to pull me back towards where the others was. " new years approaching in 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1" someone shouted through the speakers. "HAPPY NEW YEARS" people shouted as cheers erupted to the sky. i smiled at the fireworks and blinked a little, looking around. kaidoh and misaki have "mysteriously" disappeared and kawamura was smiling at his girlfriend. momoshiro has his arms around kato (WHAT ?), tezuka had his fingers interlaced with reiko's and was blushing really red. sato and eiji are ... MAKING OUT ? my eyes widened as i saw that and quickly turn my head away so no one can see my red face. from the corner of my eye, i saw miyu peeking at toyaro, who is seemingly not noticing anything around him. i smiled slightly as i thought of a way to bring them together.

i felt something land on my shoulder and someone brushing my hair away from my face, i turned and saw fuji-kun smiling at me with his eyes opened. wait, is it me or does his face seem closer. before i realise what happened, i felt his lips touching mine and he pulled me closer towards him. a while later, he pulled away and looked at me. i feel my face burning as i stood up and quickly walked away.

MY FIRST KISS ! was taken by ... Fuji.

~ Fuji's POV ~

she walked away. 'why did you do that? can't you just control yourself even though it's true she looks pretty and all and her hair was so soft and her lips ... ARGHH ! you are not reflecting' i mentally scolded myself. she hated it, she definitely hated it.

~ someone's POV ~

three girls were walking around looking for the top of the hill where the regulars were. "there there" one girl whispered "fuji-senpai looks good in that getup" and her eyes went all dreamy. the second girl was about to snap a shot of fuji when he leaned in and kissed koromi. the third girl gasped and grabbed the camera out the second girl's hand and took a picture of it ...

message: sorry this is so short, it is sort of rushed. gomen, will try to update more regularly.

by the way people, this is how you look in a kimono 


	11. Chapter 11

Koromi's POV ~

"riiing" the alarm rang waking me up early after the luxury of waking up late for the past few days. 'Damn, that alarm really knows how to do its job' I thought after sitting up on my bed and looking out of the window. "Koromi, turn off your alarm and get ready or you'll be late" ogaa-san shouted from the floor below. "Hai" I called out and switch off my alarm clock, I dressed in the green uniform and left the house with my tennis bag (well, since they know it already, no point in hiding anymore right?)

"koro-chan" Eiji-kun's smiling face greeted me "hoi hoi". "Ohayo Eiji-kun" I smiled as strolled alongside him. "So, are we going over to sato's house to pick her up?" I commented teasingly. Almost instantly, a red blush creep onto his face and he started babbling." n-no, w-why would I pick her up, nya~? I mean, just because I happen to be walking towards her house instead of the normal route, does not mean that I am going to pick her up and...and..." Eiji-kun stopped abruptly and turned facing me. I grinned at him in a knowing sort of way and he blushed realizing he gave himself away.

"Eiji" Sato shouted before running and jumping onto his back. I smiled and walked behind them, watching Sato cling onto eiji's hand. 'Hm... I wonder how fuji-kun will feel if I do that' I thought before realizing what I just thought and turned a little pink as we turned into school.

ff - end of practice

"ok, tomorrow is your match in the perfactual tournament, rest well today and I'll see you all tomorrow at 9am in front of the tennis park (made it up)." Ryuzaki-sensei told the team before dismissing them.

Kikamaru's POV ~

'there is something wrong with koro-chan.' I thought looking at her disappearing figure. She seemed depressed somehow.

~ Kato's POV ~

" kato-san, why is there a crowd there?" Reiko pulled me to a stop and pointed at a crowd. "Hm... I don't know, want to have a look?" I asked Reiko and we strolled over to where the crowd was gathering. 'Oh, so it is just a poster they are looking at' I thought and started to turn around. "kato, look carefully." reiko told me, grabbing onto my arm causing me to look back at the poster. My eyes widened as I saw the content of the poster. IT WAS A PICTURE OF KOROMI AND FUJI KISSING! It seems to be a picture taken on New Year's Day.

~ koromi's POV ~

" Koromi!" kato shouted as she entered my class during lunch break, i stared at her. Kato is so not the shouting type"taihendayo [bad news]" she cried out when she reached my desk. "What do you mean?" I asked her, from the looks of Reiko strolling in, she must have ran all the way "y-y-you a-a-are...*pants*" kato was trying to catch her breath while tell me what happen. "I'll tell her" reiko said, suddenly appearing beside me. "There are some posters we saw on the way here. And they were taken on New Year's Day." Reiko looked at me seemingly to look for my reaction. I looked back at her "so what happened on new years' day?" I asked. "Koromi! There is a picture of you and Fuji kissing pasted around school." Sato yelled as she skipped into class. The whole class stopped what they were doing and turned and looked at my direction. Momo dropped a piece of bread which he was holding on his hand and stared at us. I felt my face turn red as I ran out of the classroom.

I stared at the picture as the memories of what happen that day flooded back to me. 'Who took this?' I thought, angry and confused. "They took it at the angle that we both could be seen huh?" a voice came from behind me, I felt my shoulder tense, "i-i-i guess so" I stammered before walking away and not turning back.

~Fuji's POV~

"i-i-i guess so" she said before walking away. I stared after her and looked back at the picture. I didn't regret kissing her. But she didn't like it huh? "Eh, fuji and Koromi are going out. Masaka [seriously?]" and "oh no, my poor Fuji" was heard all over the hallways. "Fuji-kun, you are not really going out with that girl right?" the fangirls started to surround me and questioning me. I looked at them and whispered "I don't know"

ff- the day of the match

~ koromi's POV ~

" Echizen and Momo are in doubles?" I heard someone commented and turned my head in that direction. Inui confirm the list and everyone was waiting for the match to happen in disbelief. I had been there when the ranking was decided. Doubles 2 - Echizen and Momoshiro. Doubles 1- Eiji and oishi. Singles 3 - kaidoh. Singles 2- taka-san. Singles 1 - fuji-kun.

The two boys started with a weird tactic I have never even heard of. The "uh-ah" strategy. I watched the match and saw many flaws 'Echizen and Momo are really not suitable for doubles' I thought. then, they did something surprising, they drew a line between them and suddenly, their play improved. "They did something unexpected huh?" fuji-kun's voice came from beside me. My face started to heat as I thought ' what the hell is wrong with me' I rushed away mumbling something about helping Eiji-kun.

~Fuji's POV ~

'what is happening, I can't even talk to her now?' I thought as I look at her hurrying figure. Somehow, this scene is starting to get familiar. I turned back to the game Momo and Echizen just won their match. I gave a slight sigh and went to warm up. It will take only a few minutes for the others to defeat their opponents.

~kikamaru's POV ~

"Eiji-kun, do you need anything?" koro-chan asked, her face was really red. Sato looked at koro-chan and started sulking a little *cough* jealousy *cough*. Sato and I glanced at koro-chan once again; she peeked out of the corner of her eyes to where she came from. "Fuji's gone, he went to warm up" I pointed out. Her face blushed further and Sato shot me a look. I was about to complain but then, oishi and my name were called. "Gambatte [all the best], Eiji." Sato shouted as koro-chan gave me a weak smile.

Since Momo and ochibi's match ended, the other team have not even scored 1 point. Finally, it was fujiko's match. "Fuji, gambatte" I shouted as Fuji stepped onto the courts. He turned and gave me a smile. But this smile is different, a hint of sadness seem to show.

~ Koromi's POV ~

"fuji-kun." I whispered. I saw the smile he gave Eiji-kun. What happened?

ff - after fuji win the match

" ok minna [everyone] our next opponent is fudomine Jr high. All the best people and rest well."


	12. Chapter 12

~ Narrator's POV ~

cheers erupted the courts as seigaku scored yet another point from fudomine. Koromi held on to the metal fence and looked at the team worriedly. 'they are keeping something, i am sure of it' she thought as she watched fuji and taka-san play the pair from fudomine. doubles 2 has started long ago and the match has been intense ever since it started. 'fudomine has a bad reputation for playing dirty' koromi recalled one of her previous senpai tellling her. she fear for the safety of the two boys and more importantly, fuji.

~koromi's POV ~

" talitomo [the both of them] daijobu?" i wondered as i looked at the pair. The guy with the bandana in fudomine seems to have something up his sleeve, i saw the way he keep looking at his captain and it just give me an uneasy feeling. " wah, fuji-senpai, steki [ hot] " a girl in two pigtails called out from beside me. 'he's mine' i thought as i looked at her and felt myself blush as i quickly turned to the courts.

my eyes widened as i saw the stance the bandana guy held. the muscles in his arm grew obviously and he was waiting for the ball to approach ... with one shot, he sent a powerful ball back to the other side. fuji-kun ran towards the ball in a position ready to hit it. "is fuji going to talk that shot? NO FUJI, YOUR ARMS WILL BREAK IF YOU TAKE THAT SHOT" oishi shouted. the team stared at fuji and worry filled their eyes.

the ball approached him and he showed no sign of leaving. " SYUSUKE, GET OUT OF ITS WAY" i shouted, closing my eyes not daring to watch. a while later, i heard a gasp coming from the long-haired girl and I opened my eyes slowly. fuji-kun was holding taka-san's wrist and announcing that they forfeit the match while he took the racket out of taka-san's hand.

"what happened?" i asked the two girls, specifically the long-haired one as the other girl was practically trying to kill me with her glare. "w-well, the-" the girl was replying when she got cutted off by the annoying brat. "who are you? how dare you call my fuji-senpai by his first name." the girl demanded to know. "To-tomoka-chan" her poor friend tried to stop her from saying anything. " since when is he yours?" i asked, giving her a ' shut up' look. obviously she didn't get the hint as she carried on with a boring introduction of herself. "of course he is mine. i am osakada tomoka, i am the president of the ryoma-sama fan club and the tennis regulars fan club, though i like ryoma-sama best. oh and this is sakuno." she added, waving towards the timid girl. "yo-yoroshikun [nice to meet you]" and she bowed. "oh, osadaka tomoka huh? you really remind me of horio and bug me the same way he does." i mumbled and smiled at sakuno, " by any chance are you ryuzaki sakuno?" i asked, remembering that ryuzaki-sensei has a granddaughter. "h-hai" she said in a voice barely above a whisper, and blush furiously. 'how cute'

~ fuji's POV ~

"taka-san, thanks for taking that shot for me." i said as inui sprayed some alcohol on taka-san's wrist to numb the pain. "it's ok, fuji. you watch the rest of the match, inui is bringing me to the hospital." he said before leaving. i smiled and nodded before turning back to the match. my mind drifted off to before taka-san took the blow for me. i heard someone shouted my name. no, not fuji, but syusuke. the only one who calls me that is nee-san, but i am fairly certain it wasn't her. no, the voice was different, this voice sounded like ... koromi.

ff - the end of singles 2

singles 2 started with high tension in the air. if Ryoma wins this round then Seigaku will advance to the next round. Shinji Ibu, a second year in the fudomine regulars, is now alternating between top spins and slices.

~koromi's POV ~

'spot!' i thought as i watched the muscle on echizen's arm visibly tensed for an instant and watch in slow motion as the racket flew out of his hand and hit the pole, causing it to smash into pieces and one piece cut echizen on his eyelid, making a wound that started bleeding instantly.

"ryoma-kun" sakuno cried out and attempted to jump over the parapet that kept people out. i grabbed onto her hand and stopped her. " why did you stop her?" tomoka shouted and pulled sakuno's hand out of my grasp and waved sakuno to carry on. "by entering the courts before the match ends is showing disrespect to the game and the player." i cried out, knowing that sakuno would not dare to risk echizen's wrath. i smiled and jumped over the parapet and walked in the direction of the benches where echizen now was. "hey, didn't you say that if you enter the courts, you are disrespecting the game and the player?" she demanded and glared at me. "well, it's an exception if you're the manager and need to tend to the player's wound" i replied and gave her a 'and that means me' smile before continuing my way there.

~ kikamaru's POV ~

koro-chan rushed over and looked at ochibi's wound with fuji helping her. i watched as fuji looked at koro-chan's worried look and gave a disappointed one himself. heheheh ... this might be interesting.

when she was done, koro-chan stood up and smiled proudly, " there, it's done" she announced before the worried look clouded over her eyes once again "it can only hold for 15 mins." " i think you should forfeit Echizen, it is quite a serious wound" oishi commented but buchou told Ochibi he has 10 mins to beat Shinji.

~ fuji's POV ~

damn it, why does she have to be so worried about him. she doesn't seem to care about _me _that much. ok, i don't care anymore, it's tonight or never

~ koromi's POV ~

'that's weird,' i thought as i watch echizen stepped back onto the courts. i was worried yes, but not scared, not fearing of what happened to him when his racket broke. my blood didn't run cold like it did when i saw fuji-kun approaching that powerful ball ...

ff - end of singles 2

"with a score of 3-1, seigaku proceeds to the next round" happy crys of the seigaku members filled the air as the 2 schools thank each other for the game.

" ryoma-kun, obaa-chan told m-me to c-come and p-pick y-you up to g-go to the h-hosptial " Ryuzaki Sakuno timidly appoach the guy of her daily day-dreams. "hn ..." the boy got up and followed her to the car. 

the regulars celebrated while on their way to 'KAWAMURA SUSHI' to celebrate their victory.

~ koromi's POV ~

when i stepped into the shop, i felt a sense of warmth and looked around the place. it was a decent-looking restuarant with bamboo furnitures. i smiled as the regulars rushed past me and filled the once-empty resturant. eiji-kun pull me and sit me on the table behind him, opposite fuji-kun. when echizen arrived, he was being pulled in by his collar and forced to sit next to me. i grinned at his discomfort and he gave me a 'stop grinning' glare that backfired and result in me laughing out loud. the sushi has just been set on the table when that tomoka girl and sakuno suddenly sat at both sides of echizen and picked up some sushi to feed him [ sakuno was being forced to obviously] and thus, squeezing me to one side.

i stood up and strolled over the other side of the table and settled down next to fuji-kun. enjoying my sushi while observing the situation between the 2 girls and echizen. the 2 girls held one piece of sushi on the both sides of echizen. tomoka tell him to open his mouth while sakuno looked down, finding the floor strangely interesting. echizen turned a little pink before taking a bite out of sakuno's piece. ' heh heh ... ' i thought as my mind started turning

"fuji, look there" i heard eiji-kun's voice coming from my left. i looked over and saw fuji-kun looking at me, with his eyes opened. my breath got caught in my throat as i found myself getting sucked into his the blue depths of his eyes."ahhh ... tea tea !" eiji-kun shouted, snapping me back into reality. i looked over at eiji-kun running around in circles asking fuji-kun what sushi he was eating.

"wasabi sushi" was the reply of the ever-smiling guy. i stared at the sushi on his plate. " koromi, you want some?" he asked holdng out the sushi in his hands. i hestiated before reaching out my hand to take the sushi but he bat it away and continue to hold it in the direction of my mouth. i took a bite out of that sushi and heard someone going "ahh". i looked up and saw everyone looking at us [ yes, even taka-san's father, tezuka-buchou and ryuzaki-sensei] i felt my cheeks turn red and mumbled something about the wasabi being too hot.

~ fuji's POV ~

'she looks really cute when she is blushing' i thought while smiling softly to myself. i reached into my pocket and removed a piece of paper and subtly placing it into koromi's hands. well, i have nothing to lose right?

~ koromi's POV ~

i felt something pressed into my palm and i saw fuji-kun handing me a piece of paper. he saw me staring at it and gave me a weak smile and i saw uncertainty in his eyes, i opened that slip of paper and read the message in it :

_Koromi,  
meet me at "i thought nobody comes here" at 9pm tonight  
i'll be waiting till you come  
fuji  
_

i stared at the quote and suddenly realise where he was talking about.

ff - 9pm

the night wind was blowing as a guy stood by a tree in a place where he could see the city. he was waiting in a fear that the girl would not turn up. he looked at his watch, worried that he got the wrong time. unknown to him, the girl arrived to the location and strolled to his side. "fuji-kun, what's the matter?" the girl asked, worried about him. "koromi, i ..."


	13. Chapter 13

**this story is dedicated to: ****  
****andysanime: thanks for your encouraging message=) ****  
****jazzykite801: thanks for the friendship =) ****  
****thedigitalnightcatoflife: thanks for your positive comment =)**

hey readers, sry I'm having a writer's block right now and am trying to update but really slowly. Thx for your unending support. Sry this is just a short chapter. 

~ Normal POV ~

"Koromi...I... I love you, w-will you be my girlfriend?" the tensai asked the manager of the team. She looked at him and saw something different, sure his eyes are still closed and his smile was still in place but his smile held something ... nervousness, anxiousness and fear. He had to admit, much as he wanted to hear her answer, he was scared that she might turn him down. 'Please say yes, please say yes' this sentence was repeating itself in his mind and he unconsciously clenched his fist by his side.

~koromi's POV ~

'did I hear what I just heard?' I thought as fuji-kun's word echoed itself in my mind. "I...I..." "You don't have to give me an answer right now, but just think about it ok?" I was interrupted by fuji-kun's voice. I looked up and saw him giving me an uneasy smile. "well, it's late now, why don't I walk you home?" he tilted his head in the direction of my place, trying to make things seem normal. I nodded and strolled to his side as we continued the way back.

Back at home, I was rolling in my bed as fuji-kun's words replayed themselves in my mind like a broken tape recorder. I went to bed and dreamt of what had happened.

FF - the next day at lunch...

~ normal POV ~

Koromi sighed and looked out of the window for the 10 time in the past 5 mins and glance that the tennis courts. being on the second floor and having the window seat that has a perfect view of the [said] tennis courts does not help especially when it gave her a perfect view of a certain brunette tensai playing tennis. She heaved another sigh and turned her head away but tilted back a little looking at the latter from the corner of her eyes. 

~Koromi's POV ~

"ko-ro-mi-chan" a voice rang out and I looked behind. Sato hugged me, no make that squash me from the back as Kato and Reiko walked up to my side. "I saw that, I saw that" the hyperactive girl shouted into my ear. I smiled uneasily and looked at her, "what do you mean?" kato peered out of the window and gave a slight smirk and said "so young so young, it's good to be young isn't it?" reiko gave her a weird look and replied "you're the same age as her, and you are starting to sound like Momoshiro-kun" and then she turned and gave me a "time to spill it" look. "Koromi, you were looking at Fuji", the over-excited member announced, increasing the strength on her grip around me.

"I…I-I w-wasn't…okay, so I was." I admitted in a soft voice. Their eyes gave a mysterious twinkle and dragged me off to the toilet. "Spill it, Koromi." Reiko said and the other two looked at me with sheer anticipation. "He…he t-told me t-that he l-l-loves m-me" I stammered. Sato and Kato gave a squeal of delight and Reiko pressed on "so? What's your answer?" I blushed a little and turned my head away, muttering. "Koromi, you know that we can't hear you like that" they pressed on. "I ran away" I repeated in a slightly louder voice. The three of them stared at me in disbelief, and all started speaking at once. "Stop, I mean, at least one at a time?" I cried out. "But you love him, don't you? Why don't you just accept him already?" Reiko stated their thoughts.

I stared at them, like they were suddenly speaking some foreign language that I do not understand. "What? No, I don't love him. I-I just like him as a really close friend." The three of them gave me a look and Sato blurted out "are you really that dense? You like him, no, you love him and now you both are going to be all awkward and miserable just because you are unable to tell him truthfully how you feel"

~At Practice~

I found my eyes, once again, wandering towards the courts where Fuji was currently playing against Kawamura. "You know, you should tell him." I turned my head to look at the owner of the voice who is none other than, Momoshiro Takeshi. "What do you mean?" I asked, diverting my eyes away from his face. "Don't give me that, Tanaka. I meant with Fuji. You really got him messed up, look, he can't even play properly because of that." We looked over to the latter just in time to see a ball fly past him. "Regionals is in two days and with his condition now, I can hardly say that singles 2 is in the bag." He added. "I agree with Momoshiro, at the rate he's going there is a 76% chance that he might lose his match. The reason why he's like that I'm sure you know, Tanaka-san" Inui added. I felt a slight 'pang' in my heart and finally understood what the reason why her heart always skip a beat when she saw him and why she is always shy when he spoke to her. "Okok, I get it already. But is it that obvious?" the two of them stared at me, dumbfounded. "y-you mean you never knew that you like him?" Momoshiro stuttered. I hesitantly shook my head. "Well, yes, according to my data, there is a 99.99% that you like Fuji but you haven't told him yet." With that said, the two of them walked away to have a match against each other.

I looked at fuji-kun again and this time I knew what to do. I was going to give him my reply and the sooner the better.


	14. Chapter 14

~normal POV ~

Koromi gingerly walked over to the court and stood by the sidelines. "Game and match, Fuji, 6 games to 4." The non-regular, who was acting as the umpire, stared at Fuji in disbelief. This just had to be a new record; someone had won more than 2 games off Fuji. No one had ever done that except for Tezuka and Echizen. Fuji went to the sidelines and sat down; shoulders slumped and towel covering his head. "Ne, fuji-kun, daijobu? Your playing seems a little off today" Koromi stated as she approached him. His shoulders tensed as he suddenly stood up, with a tense smile, and replying that he was fine. There was an awkward silence between them." You know, Tezuka really got a way to hide those smiles of his." She said, trying to lighten the tensed atmosphere between them. He gave a weak chuckle and she sighed inward. "Fuji, Tanaka, 20 laps" Tezuka said as he appeared behind them. Koromi turned around, wide-eyed 'oops, I guess he heard it.'

Fuji silently took off and Koromi was about to follow when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and saw Tezuka stopping her. "Talk to him" he whispered and then left her alone to run the laps. Koromi started off fast, trying to catch up with Fuji, but when he saw her closing in the distance, he too sped up. "Why do you have to keep running away from me?" she inquired, trying her best to speed up. "Then why do you keep chasing me?" he retorted. "I-I need to speak to you. It…it's important" she answered. He slowed down a little before speeding up again, trying his best to ignore what she had just said and finished up his laps. Koromi finished soon after; she looked around for Fuji and found him quite a distance away, doing his warm-ups and stretches.

"I'll be waiting at break on the rooftop, hope you come" she whispered as she walked pass him to speak to Ryuzaki sensei. Fuji looked in her direction and then looked away. "She likes you, you know" Tezuka stated, looking at his best friend. Fuji forced a smile and replied "you don't have to comfort me by saying those things; we both know that it's not true." Tezuka looked at Fuji from the corner of his eyes, "if you just keep denying it, then even when the truth is in your face, you'll think that it's a lie. Don't let your guard down Fuji" with that, he left the prodigy thinking and went to straighten out the quarrel that has started between the two second years of their team.

~ Koromi's POV ~

FF break time

Time seems to pass so slowly, I've been waiting for Fuji-kun for the past 5 minutes and it feels like an hour. I heaved a sigh, thinking that it was probably useless waiting any longer. 'He's not going to show up.' Together with that thought, I felt like my heart was slowly shattering.

The door creaked open and I turned quickly. 'He came,' I thought happily as I felt an urge to just run over to give him a hug. Fuji-kun walked in and stood next to me. "Let's pretend that it didn't happen" Fuji-kun turned and looked at me and then looked away "let's be good friends again ne?" I looked at him in confusion. 'Why?' I thought 'I thought he liked me, I wanted to tell him. Was he lying to me all along?' my eyes started to be filled with tears that were threatening to fall. "H-Hai" I stammered, as the tears started to roll down my cheeks. "Good, then-"his voice trailed off as he turned to face me. His eyes opened with uncertainty as he reached out his hands towards my face.

As the cold surface of his palms touched my cheeks, I jerked my face away. "My friends are waiting for me" I mumbled as I turned and ran out of the door.

~ Fuji's POV ~

'Why was she crying?' I looked at her retreating figure disappear. I remembered the look on her face, hurt and sadness. 'Why will she feel that way? I thought she wanted-'my thoughts were cut off by a certain memory.

-** FLASHBACK**-

"_She likes you, you know" Tezuka stated, looking at his best friend. Fuji forced a smile and replied "you don't have to comfort me by saying those things; we both know that it's not true." Tezuka looked at Fuji from the corner of his eyes, "if you just keep denying it, then even when the truth is in your face, you'll think that it's a lie. Don't let your guard down Fuji" with that, he left the prodigy thinking and went to straighten out the quarrel that has started between the two second years of their team._

-** END OF FLASHBACK**-

'So that must mean that she really likes me' I thought, smiling to myself. But then I remembered what I told her. I turned and ran towards the opened door. I ran down the stairs and looked all over the place for her but she was nowhere to be found. I turned around the corner of the building, mentally sighing with plans of giving up. "*sniff*daijobu ne? We'll be friends and that's better ne? There'll at least be no heartaches" a figure, in front of me, was mumbling. 'Koromi' I opened my mouth but no voice came out.

~ Normal POV ~

While Koromi was sobbing silently, trying to convince herself that being friends with Fuji was better, a pair of hands wrapped itself around her waist, pulling her closer to the person who owns them. She was shocked and tried to move those arms away from her but they only serve as a way to allow the person to hold her tighter than ever.

"Why did you run away?" a soft voice asked out as she felt someone rest their head on the nape of her shoulder. She turned her head to the side and is surprised to see a pair of ocean blue eyes staring back at her. "Iie, nandemonai" she replied, wiping away her tears, "it's time to go back to class" she added trying to remove those arms from around her. But Fuji stubbornly refuses to let her go. "I thought that that was what you wanted" he mumbled, loud enough for her to hear "I don't want us to remain so awkward with each other. So I- I thought that it would be better if we pretend all these didn't happen in the first place."

Koromi's heart was overflowing, her mind with so much thoughts. Fuji turned her around to face him and leaned in. Koromi's eyes widen in shock as she felt a pair of soft, warm lips touched hers. Fuji's arms tightened around her waist as his kisses deepened, urging for her to respond. After she got over her shock, Koromi slowly melted into the kiss. As the kiss deepens even further, Koromi found her hands tangled in his hair, which was as soft as she thought it would be, and responded with equal amount of passion.

A moment later, Fuji pulled back, removing his lips from hers, and looked at her. Koromi's lips tingled with the pleasure of what had happened just a while ago. "S-sorry, I didn't –"Fuji's words were being cut off by a sweet peck on his lips. Confusion and hope were clearly showing in his eyes, "erm… I … what was that for?" she smiled at him and replied "Yes". He stared at her, more confused than ever. Then, it dawned upon him that she was replying to his confession.

He gave a wide smile and lifted her off the ground. "Alright!" he shouted out as he started to spin her in circles. She giggled and smiled at him as he let her down. He leaned down and gave her a small peck.

"Yatta ne, Fuji" a blur flew out from one of the bushes and latch itself onto the brown-haired boy. Koromi stared at her red-head neighbor and felt a blush creeping up her cheeks. "So young, so young" another figure commented as it appeared out of the same bush. "What are you talking about Momo-senpai? Fuji-senpai is older than you" Echizen mumbled as he walked away from the bush pulling with a blushing Ryuuzaki Sakuno along with him. Koromi stared at the two disappearing figures and muttered "since when were they together?" "One month ago" a voice to my left replied, "and now it's yours and Fuji's turn. Ii data."

Koromi stood in disbelief, "how is it that all the regulars are here?" she asked out loud. Fuji chuckled and took her hand and pressed his face into her hair and mumbled, "No, tezuka isn't here"

"Fuji, Tanaka, 10 laps before practice for missing lessons over this." A familiar stoic voice rang out, Fuji looked up, and saw an even more familiar figure stepped out from behind a tree. "You were saying?" Koromi commented, burying her head into Fuji's chest to hide her embarrassment. "Saa, so you were right. All the regulars are here. Well, that saves us the trouble of letting them know" he chuckled and hugged the blushing girl even closer to himself.

~ Fuji's POV~

I looked at the girl in my arms and smiled to myself. She accepted me. Right now, this fact is still having problem being registered into my mind. If this was ever a dream, I wish not to wake up. The girl in my arms looked up at me and giggled, "ne, Fuji-kun, what are you thinking about?" she asked and tilted her head to one side. "Syusuke" I mumbled, she gave me a clueless look "I want you to call me Syusuke." Her face flushed an impossible shade of red and she mumbled "Syu-syusuke", while biting her bottom lip. A small chuckle escaped my mouth as I pull her closer to me, I never want to let her go.

Sorry, got a little tired of writing this story so quite a abrupt ending. But I hope you enjoyed it.


End file.
